Laka has raised an £8.9 million Series A round to expand into Europe.
The London startup, 13th on our InsurTech 50 ranking last year, delivers daily pricing based on the actual cost of claims and is already insuring last-mile delivery companies including Zapp, Jiffy and Urb-it.
The funding from leading e-mobility and cycling industry investors will see it launch in Belgium, France and Germany in the first half of 2022, servicing recently won partnerships including global giant Randstad, iconic cycling brands Raleigh and Le Col, as well as a leading international consumer bank and the world’s largest sports retailer, Decathlon.
The round was led by US mobility investor Autotech Ventures with participation from sustainable mobility and energy fund Ponooc, a Dutch sustainable mobility investor with close ties to the world’s largest bike seller Pon, alongside ABN AMRO Ventures.
Existing investors including Creandum, LocalGlobe, 1818 Ventures and Elkstone Partners followed on, while Zwift CEO and co-founder Eric Min also invested.
InsurTech 50 – UK’s most innovative insurance technology creators for 2021
“Autotech Ventures is truly excited to partner with the Laka team,” said Burak Cendek, partner at Autotech Ventures.
“As a transportation focused fund, we’ve been witnessing the explosive growth in personal ownership of two wheelers – especially in light of the pandemic – as well as increased business use cases within logistics.
“Not only is Laka’s innovative product line answering unmet needs of the market but we believe that Laka has the potential to transform the insurance industry as a whole.”
Rui Li, investment manager at Ponooc, added: “Our reason to support Laka is obvious. As an investor specialised in sustainable mobility we see the large and fast growing need for a customer centric, transparent and digital mobility insurance proposition.
“We are convinced that insurtech will play an important role in accelerating the adoption of sustainable mobility. In this space LAKA offers an exceptional proposition for both the B2B and B2C market. Ponooc welcomes Laka and its highly talented team to its family, and is thrilled to be part of its growth journey.”